Swans continue to soar under Cooper

Posted Thursday, August 22, 2019 by PA

Swansea won 3-1 at QPR to continue their excellent start under new boss Steve Cooper.

Borja Baston’s 70th-minute penalty put them back in front soon after Jordan Hugill’s equaliser and Sam Surridge rubber-stamped the victory by nodding in Andre Ayew’s cross from close range 10 minutes later.

Borja netted from the spot after Yoann Barbet tripped Jordon Carrick, just three minutes after Hugill had cancelled out Bersant Celina’s opener.

Hugill headed Ilias Chair’s right-wing cross into the far corner of the net only for Rangers to disintegrate.

Conceding goals against the run of play has been a problem for them under their new manager Mark Warburton and they were guilty of doing so again.

They were on the front foot in the first half when undone by a Swans counter-attack on 29 minutes, with Ayew playing in Celina, who sprinted towards goal and slotted past keeper Joe Lumley.

Luke Amos, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, went off before play restarted with what looked like a knee problem.

Rangers’ on-loan Tottenham midfielder sank to the ground as Swansea celebrated their goal and he was eventually replaced by Josh Scowen, although he did walk from the pitch unaided.

Celina’s goal came after a promising start by Rangers in which Ebere Eze and Hugill went close to putting them ahead in spectacular fashion.

Eze evaded a couple of challenges and saw his low shot, which was heading towards the bottom corner, tipped away by keeper Freddie Woodman.

A corner routine then led to Hugill almost opening the scoring.

The striker peeled away towards the penalty spot and collected Ryan Manning’s delivery on his chest before sending a crisp volley narrowly over the bar.

Having hit their opponents with a sucker punch, Swansea had to absorb more pressure after the interval as Rangers searched for an equaliser.

Todd Kane’s intended cross bounced off the top of the bar and Scowen’s half-volley flashed wide before substitutes Marc Pugh and Chair combined to almost bring the home side level.

Pugh did well on the left and pulled the back back for Chair, whose shot was blocked by Woodman at point-blank range.

Rangers finally got the breakthrough they deserved when Hugill got his second goal since making a season-long loan move from West Ham.

But Barbet’s silly challenge led to Swansea quickly regaining the lead and Surridge’s close-range finish meant there was no way back for Warburton’s team.